Black lives matter. We will not stay silent. We must all demand justice. We must all create change. We must all be heard.
What can anyone say to people who are sick of being marginalized, dehumanized, and stripped of any sense of power? That’s what institutionalized racism does. It’s baked into our economic system. It’s part of America’s DNA. Some people are privileged and some people are not. Some people have a shot and some don’t. One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.
There is pain. There is despair. There is grief. There is anger. It is righteous and now it is boiling over.
When all seems hopeless it’s not easy to find common ground, but as communicators that’s what we are trained to do. We know that frustration turns to anger when people feel like nobody is listening.
We are committed to listening. We will express empathy and compassion. We will look for opportunities to engage in constructive dialogue. We understand that nobody wins if the same people always lose. We will not give up until we find some common ground.
A lot of people say we as a nation are better than this. It’s time to prove it.